Growing 'Love Apples,' Better Known These Days as Tomatoes

Plant scientists consider them fruit. Most other people think of them as vegetables. Whatever you call tomatoes, there are many different kinds of this popular and healthy food.

Each plant can produce about four to seven kilograms of fruit. Growers can harvest a big crop with little space. Full plants with fruit take about eighty days to grow from seed. Cold weather can damage young plants, so they are often grown inside for four to six weeks.

A tomato plant can grow several thick stems from its base. Only two or three stems should be kept. From the stems come smaller growths called suckers. New suckers that grow between the stems should be removed. There should be a full meter between plants with three stems, a little less for plants with two stems.

There are two general groups of plants. Small tomato plants grow to about one meter. They can be planted rather close together. Some short kinds do not require special care and are often harvested by machines.

Large tomato plants can grow over two meters tall. They also provide larger fruit. These plants need support. One method uses wires run along both sides of a row of plants. The wires help hold the suckers and fruit. The wiring is secured to strong posts on either side of the row. The wires are raised as the plants and fruit grow.

People who grow only a few plants can place wire cages around each one. The cage can be made of wire fence material. The cage helps the plant grow taller and to produce a bigger crop.

Tomatoes often need extra calcium or the fruit may be ruined. Adding lime to the soil can prevent this problem.

Dry conditions may also ruin fruit. Tomatoes need water regularly. The soil should never dry out completely. Dried grass or leaves placed around the plant can help hold water in the soil and control the growth of unwanted plants.

Tomatoes are native to South America. The tomato is a member of the potato family. The leaves of the plant are poisonous, like the leaves of its relatives. Before the middle of the eighteen hundreds, people grew tomatoes only as pretty plants. They called the bright red fruit a "love apple," but would not eat it.

The Web site of the Cooperative Extension Service at North Carolina State University has more information about growing tomatoes. The address is c-e-s dot n-c-s-u dot e-d-u (ces.ncsu.edu).

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Shep O'Neal.